What's Playing This Weekend? Best Kids Music Venues in the Country

I live in Phoenix, which, as anyone who lives in Phoenix will tell you, is not the most scintillating of live music towns. There are many reasons for that, but I'm doing my best to change that, at least in the kids' music field. There are certain venues across the country, however, that I draw inspiration from -- venues that manage to find space for both local and national artists, building a kids music community through live shows. One note -- unfortunately, I've never been to any of these venues. My declaration of these sites as "the best" is based solely on the quality and diversity of their concert lineup. I should also note that this list explicitly excludes libraries and festivals as the former tends not to be able to bring in a bunch of touring musicians and the latter only gives you a weekend of music each year. Of course, I want to hear about your favorite places to hear music with your family, not just for the quality of the music but also for the quality of the experience. Because no matter how good the show, if there's no place to change your kids' diaper, it's hard for anyone to be a happy camper. On with the list...

Chaotic, But In A Good Way

Very briefly, I had fun last night on Absolutely Mindy's show on Sirius-XM's Kids Place Live. I was asked which I liked more, being on NPR or being on Absolutely Mindy, and while I can't compare the two, there's something about being asked spontaneously to call Secret Agent 23 Skidoo to congratulate him on winning the KidVid Tournament 2009 that is infinitely more chaotic than the more planned NPR chats and reviews. (I'm pretty sure Melissa Block has never called someone's answering machine live on the air.) Oh, and Mindy's Easter Egg Roll cracks me up.

Contest: Win the New Gustafer Yellowgold Album

GustaferYellowgoldsMellowFever.jpgI reallyliked the latest Gustafer Yellowgold DVD/CD release, Gustafer Yellowgold's Mellow Fever, and now thanks to Gustafer and his pals, I'm going to give you a chance to win it. That's right, you could be the lucky winner of the latest collection of Gustafer (mis-)adventures. All you need to do is enter by writing your favorite summertime adventure in the comments below. One entry per household; all entries due by midnight East Coast time Thursday night. I'll pick a winner at random. Good luck, and to get you inspired, here's Gustafer's memories of his summers on the sun. Gustafer Yellowgold - "Butter Pond Lake"

New Milkshake Album Will Arrive. Once They Start Working On It.

It's been awhile since the 2007 release of Play! the last full-length from Baltimore band Milkshake. Which isn't to say they haven't been keeping busy doing various things (I, for one, was amused by the Milkshake comic book they put out), but, y'know, living on the other side of the country as I do, I tend to be less interested in the live shows. But in their latest newsletter the band says they've been "hard at work writing and rehearsing as we prepare to record our fourth CD next month." They say that the CD will focus on and by "inspired by all kinds of things 6 - 9 year-old kids might find themselves thinking about." Most intriguingly is the news that the CD will be produced by music veteran Tor Hyams. The selection of Hyams, who we recently noted was working on producing the Paul Green School of Rock album promises to give the release a little bit of an edge. Although the band has many charms, few would accuse them of being particularly far along the "edgy" spectrum. For those of you interested in one of their songs for the under-6 crowd, here's what might be my favorite video off their Screen Play DVD:

"Three Little Birds" Seems Obvious, No?

OK, yeah, we've already mentioned that Ziggy Marley is releasing Family Time, his first album for kids and families, next month. But now comes word via Billboard that he'll follow that a June release of a set of Bob Marley songs, revised and remastered with a children's audience in mind. According to Billboard, Marley took the original masters of eight classic songs and revised the instrumentation and arrangements, even using some of his father's alternate vocal tracks.
"It's a very different vibe, but still real Bob. It's not like fake Bob. It's still the real Bob...It's Bob singing and I'm playing, like an acoustic session almost. Anything I did on this record is soulful and musical. There's no gimmicks. I'm keeping true to the spirit of my father, to the spirit of his music."
I'm curious, though I'm not sure what Ziggy could do to make songs like "Three Little Birds" even more accessible. Also: isn't everybody in the world required to own Legend? What's the market for this new album? In more Ziggy-specific news, Marley, who played the White House Egg Roll this morning, also "hopes to 'double up' and play special children's and family shows" during his tour with 311 this summer.